THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND ELDERS SEEK TO HAVE JESUS SENTENCED TO DEATH AND JUDAS RETURNS THE BLOOD MONEY AND HANGS HIMSELF (27:1-10). The chapter commences with the Chief Priests and Elders seeking how they can have Jesus sentenced to death, followed by Judas coming to them and returning the blood mone... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Now when morning was come, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death.' ‘Now when morning was come.' Compare ‘when evening was come' in Matthew 26:20. The evening had brought the depiction of His death in the Lord's Supper, followed by His ang... [ Continue Reading ]
THE CHIEF PRIEST AND ELDERS BRING ABOUT THE CRUCIFIXION OF JESUS BY MANIPULATION: THE REMORSE OF JUDAS AND THE TRIAL OF JESUS BEFORE PILATE (27:1-26). In this new subsection Matthew lays great stress on the part played by the Chief Priests and Elders in bringing about a verdict against Jesus, and em... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they bound him, and led him away, and delivered him up to Pilate the governor.' Jesus is again put in bonds (compare John 18:12). This may well have been in order to impress Pilate with how dangerous He was. A bound man, who had also been roughed up, looked so much more sinister. And then He w... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Then Judas, who betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,' All that Matthew feels about Judas comes out here. ‘Judas who betrayed Him.' It says all that needs to be said. Then he describes Judas'... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Saying, “I have sinned in that I betrayed innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? You see to it.” Meeting with the Chief Priest's representatives he declared to them that he had sinned in betraying innocent blood. Compare Deuteronomy 27:25 where a curse is pronounced on the one who bet... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he cast down the pieces of silver into the sanctuary, and departed, and he went away and hanged himself.'. Having failed to persuade the Chief Priests to accept the money back, which would have been tantamount to thereby admitting that they shared his guilt, Judas took the next best step and br... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the chief priests took the pieces of silver, and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is the price of blood.” ' The Chief Priests, who had paid the price of blood out of the Temple treasury, now became awfully pious. It was one thing betraying and destroying an innoce... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in.' So they then discussed the matter together, and finally came up with the idea of buying ‘the potter's field' which had come up for sale, and could be used for burying non-Jews in. The field may simply have been... [ Continue Reading ]
‘For which reason that field was called, the field of blood, to this day.' ‘For which reason' might look back to the decision of the Chief Priests, or it may look back on the whole story. The name ‘field of blood' might well have piously been given to it by the now ultra-pious Chief Priests in reco... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Then was fulfilled what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him who was priced, whom certain of the children of Israel did price, and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me.” Surveying what had happened M... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, saying, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And Jesus said to him, “It is you who say” ' It is made clear here in what terms the Chief Priests and Elders have brought their charge. It is on the basis that He is claiming to be ‘the King of... [ Continue Reading ]
EXAMINATION BEFORE PILATE (27:11-14). The examination before Pilate is described with remarkable conciseness. Matthew feels that he has already made clear the nature of the charges against Jesus (for a summary of them see Luke 23:2). The main difference lies in the fact that instead of the charge b... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.' The prosecutors, and the witnesses for the prosecution then brought their case before Pilate. The responsibility is again laid directly on the Chief Priests and Elders. But to Pilate's amazement Jesus made absolutely no... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Then says Pilate to him, “Do you not hear how many things they witness against you?” ' So He tried to chivvy Jesus into making a defence. “Do you not hear how many things they witness against you?” Surely Jesus could at least dispose of some of the charges, and at the same time explain His true po... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he gave him no answer, not even to one word, insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.' Jesus continued to maintain His silence in the face of His accusers. He stood there as regally as His situation would permit, (sufficiently to impress Pilate), and not one word left His mouth. This const... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Now at the feast the governor was in the habit of releasing (was wont to release) to the crowd one prisoner, whom they would.' Unsure what to do next Pilate then took advantage of a local custom in order to obtain Jesus' release. We have no external evidence of this custom in connection with Pales... [ Continue Reading ]
PILATE TRIES THE WAY OF COMPROMISE AND ENDS UP HAVING TO GIVE WAY BY WASHING HIS HANDS OF THE WHOLE SITUATION IN DECLARATION OF JESUS' INNOCENCE (27:15-26). Matthew now confirms that the Chief Priests and Elders are the main causes of Jesus' death, in that, having delivered Jesus to Pilate with the... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas.' The word ‘notable' here simply indicates well known. He was someone well known to the crowds as a patriot, and featured strongly in the minds of his captors as a notorious insurrectionist. ‘Called Barabbas (son of Abbas).' An unusual Greek ph... [ Continue Reading ]
‘When therefore they were gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom will you that I release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” ' So Pilate, having recognised that for the sake of peace, and in order to prevent a further complaint to Caesar, he would possibly have to yield to the d... [ Continue Reading ]
‘For he knew that for envy they had delivered him up.' And the reason that Pilate was so desirous of getting Jesus released was because he was aware of the motives of the Jewish rulers. He recognised that they were acting out of spite and jealousy against Someone of Whom they were afraid because He... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And while he was sitting on the judgment-seat, his wife sent to him, saying, “Do not have anything to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.” ' Meanwhile a further event took place which added to his confusion. He received a note from his wif... [ Continue Reading ]
“And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world (or ‘age').” And the guarantee of their success will be that He Himself is with them always, in all His authority and power as the risen Lord. This reflects the words at His birth in Matthew 1:23, ‘He will be called God With Us', again an... [ Continue Reading ]
‘But the governor answered and said to them, “Which of the two will you that I release to you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” ' Having painted the picture found in Matthew 27:18 Matthew now comes back to Pilate's question to the crowds. Pilate wants them to make a choice between the two. Their reply c... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Pilate says to them, “What then shall I do to Jesus who is called Messiah?” They all say, “Let him be crucified.” ' Pilate then made a further attempt to avoid the inevitable. Perhaps he could get the crowds to suggest leniency for Jesus. So he asks them what he should do to Jesus. But by doing so... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he said, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they cried out exceedingly, saying, “Let him be crucified.” ' Pilate protested Jesus' innocence, but that was enough to guarantee that they would have no mercy. They liked to think that they had Pilate on the ropes, and as Jerusalemites or zealot symp... [ Continue Reading ]
‘So when Pilate saw that he prevailed nothing, but rather that a tumult was arising, he took water, and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this righteous man. You see to it.” ' By this time Pilate was angry and frustrated, both because his scheme had failed and... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And all the people answered and said, “His blood be on us, and on our children.” ' For the idea here compare 2 Samuel 1:16; 2 Samuel 3:28. The people recognised quite clearly what Pilate was trying to do, and had been worked up into such a fever that they replied vociferously, “His blood be on us,... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Then he released Barabbas to them, but he scourged Jesus and delivered him to be crucified.' But Pilate could not escape the blame as easily as that, and Matthew clearly indicates his guilt in these words. In the end it is Pilate who frees Barabbas, and then has Jesus scourged, and finally handed... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium, and gathered together to him the whole band.' Note Matthew's emphasis on ‘the soldiers of the governor'. He is determined that Pilate should not to be exonerated. He alone was finally responsible for what happened, for the final auth... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they knelt down before him, and mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ' But central to it all was the desire to mock His ‘claim' to Kingship, and the horseplay no doubt began early and continued right through to the end as different ones thrust themselves forward trying to outdo what t... [ Continue Reading ]
THE MOCK ADULATION OF THE SOLDIERS (27:27-31). Having been sentenced and committed to crucifixion Jesus now became fair game. It was not often that the soldiers had a royal claimant that they could do what they liked with. So they gathered their comrades-at-arms together, tore off his clothes, put... [ Continue Reading ]
THE FINAL FAREWELL (27:27-54). In sober words Matthew now portrays what Jesus had to endure from the moment when He was handed over to His executioners to be mocked as ‘the King of the Jews' to the time when He breathes His last and His executioners testify that He is ‘the Son of God'. ANALYSIS.... [ Continue Reading ]
a ‘And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe, and plaited a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and a reed in his right hand.' Then began the mockery and they wanted Him dressed for the part. So they took off His own bloodstained robe, and put on Him a scarlet robe which was intended... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they spat on him, and took the reed and smote him continually on the head.' Spitting was, as it still is, a sign of contempt, and they held nothing back, and then one of them, no doubt to the delight of his comrades seized the reed from His hand and smote Him on the head with it. After which t... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And when they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put on him his own clothes, and led him away to crucify him.' Then at last they had had their fill of mocking Him, and duty called. So they took the robe off Him, and clothed Him in His own robe, and led Him away to crucify Him. Th... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name, him they compelled to go with them, that he might bear his cross.' ‘As they came out.' ‘Out' is being emphasised. Clearly this is intended to mean ‘out of Jerusalem.' Jesus, surrounded by His four guards, would already have been trai... [ Continue Reading ]
JESUS IS PUT TO DEATH AS THE KING OF THE JEWS (27:32-37). That Matthew saw the thought of the crucifixion of his Master as hard to bear comes out especially in these few short verses. There is no emphasis on the actual crucifixion. Indeed he passes quickly over the actual act of crucifying Jesus wit... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they were come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, it was called, The place of a skull,' Humanly speaking it was a coincidence that the place where Jesus died was called ‘the place of a Skull' (Kraniou topos). It may have been a name given because a skull had once been discovered there.... [ Continue Reading ]
‘They gave him wine to drink mingled with gall, and when he had tasted it, he would not drink.' The soldiers then gave him ‘wine mingled with gall'. If meant literally this might mean wine which had been mixed with wormwood, a flavouring testified to in the ancient world, thus indicating a dry wine.... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And when they had crucified him, they parted his clothes among them, casting lots, and they sat and watched him there. ‘And having crucified Him.' How quickly the actual crucifixion is passed over, how deep was its significance. In many cases it indicated the beginning of hours and days of sufferin... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.' Then we come to the climax of the passage, ‘they set up over His head His accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS'. This would have taken place as soon as He was crucified, but is described her... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Then are there crucified with him two insurrectionists, one on the right hand and one on the left.' The whole picture has been centralised on Jesus, but now we learn of the two men who were crucified with Him, one on the right and the other on the left. He is truly ‘numbered among the transgressors... [ Continue Reading ]
THE OPEN MOCKERY OF THE SON OF GOD (27:38-44). Having been mocked by the soldiers prior to His crucifixion Jesus must now face the mockery of His own nation. It begins with ‘those who pass by', it continues with the Chief Priests and Scribes and Elders, and it ends with the two insurrectionists bet... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And those who passed by railed on him (literally ‘were blaspheming Him'), wagging their heads, and saying, “You who will destroy the temple, and build it in three days, save yourself. If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” ' The first who mocked at Him and railed at Him were the pass... [ Continue Reading ]
‘In the same way also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, “He saved others; himself he cannot save. He is the King of Israel. Let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe on him.” ' Furthermore the Chief Priests and the Elders were back again, and this time... [ Continue Reading ]
“He trusts on God. Let him deliver him now, if he desires him, for he said, I am the Son of God.” Then they also raised the question of His claim to be the Son of God (Matthew 26:63; compare Matthew 21:37; Matthew 22:2). As such surely He trusted in God? Well, if He did, let God reveal it by deliver... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the insurrectionists also who were crucified with him cast on him the same reproach.' The third of the trio which mocked Jesus were the insurrectionists who had been crucified along with Him. These were men who had rebelled against the Roman rule, and had probably committed murder in doing so.... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour, and about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is, “My God, my God, why did you forsake me?” ' As we have seen above, in Scripture darkness represents a number of thi... [ Continue Reading ]
DIVINE VINDICATION. JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD (27:45-54). By now Jesus had been on the cross about three hours, and around noon an extraordinary event took place. For over the whole land there came gross darkness (compare Matthew 4:15). As it was the time of the full moon it could not have been an ec... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And some of those who were stood there, when they heard it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” And immediately one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink. And the rest said, “Let be, let us see whether Elijah is coming to save him.”... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Jesus cried again with a loud voice, and yielded up his spirit.' The loud cry was ‘it is finished', followed by the quieter, “Father, into your hands I commend my Spirit.” (John 19:30; Luke 23:46). It is clear that the loud cry was remembered by all, contributing to the eeriness of the occasio... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom.' His death was followed by amazing activity, although whether it all followed immediately we do not know. The first activity was in the Temple where the veil of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom. There is a d... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming forth out of the tombs after his resurrection they entered into the holy city and appeared to many.' The third ‘rending' was in respect of the tearing open of the tombs of God's chosen ones who h... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Now the centurion, and those who were with him watching Jesus, when they saw the earthquake, and the things that were done, feared exceedingly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God”.' When the centurion and his colleagues saw the earthquake and the rending of the rocks, following the unnatural p... [ Continue Reading ]
JESUS BODY IS LAID IN A SPLENDID TOMB; THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND PHARISEES SEAL THE TOMB AND PUT A GUARD ON IT SO AS TO KEEP HIM THERE; AN ANGEL OPENS THE TOMB TO REVEAL THAT JESUS HAS RISEN (27:55-28:6). In this subsection we have centrally a picture of the vain arrangements of men by which they hope... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And many women were there beholding from afar, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him,' Among those who had been observers of the crucifixion were ‘many women' from Galilee, who had been followers of Jesus and had ministered to His needs. We are given more details of these women in... [ Continue Reading ]
THE BODY OF JESUS IS RESCUED FROM IGNOMINY AND BURIED IN A RICH MAN' TOMB (27:55-61). Matthew now brings out that God had made His own funeral arrangements for His Son, as He had revealed beforehand. As Isaiah had said, ‘They made His grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in His death' (Isaiah... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.' Among the women were Mary Madgdalene; Mary the mother of James and Joses; and the unnamed mother of the Apostles, James and John. (Compare Matthew 27:61; Matthew 28:1; Mark 15:40; Mark 16:... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And when even was come, there came a rich man from Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple,' ‘When evening was come.' This is probably simply indicating that it was becoming dark. In Jewish eyes it was necessary for the bodies of the three to be taken down from their crosses... [ Continue Reading ]
‘This man went to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded it to be given up.' The bodies of criminals, apart from those guilty of high treason, were the property of the state, but would usually be made available to any relatives who requested them. Otherwise the bodies would n... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock, and he rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb, and departed.' Joseph (no doubt along with his servants) treated the body with all reverence. He wrapped it in a... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.' Meanwhile two of the women, probably delegated by the others, had followed the burial party, and were now sat down opposite the tomb. ‘The other Mary' is probably the mother of James and Joses. Thus the care and... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Now on the next day, which is the day after the Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees were gathered together to Pilate, saying, “Sir, we remember that that deceiver said while he was yet alive, ‘After three days I rise again'.” ' ‘On the next day, which is the day after the Preparation.'... [ Continue Reading ]
A GUARD IS SET ON JESUS' TOMB IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT THE BODY IS NOT STOLEN (27:62-66). There is nothing that reveals the truth about people more than their interpretation of the anticipated action of others. That is why you ‘set a thief to catch a thief'. It is because they both think in the same... [ Continue Reading ]
“Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest haply his disciples come and steal him away. And say to the people, ‘He is risen from the dead,' and the last error will be worse than the first.” So they requested that Pilate, who had overall responsibility for the body,... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Pilate said to them, “You have a guard (or ‘Have a guard'), go, make it as sure as you can.” ' It is difficult to believe that Pilate would have taken them too seriously, even if he was still disturbed by his encounter with Jesus. He would certainly have been cynical about the idea of a crucified m... [ Continue Reading ]
‘So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, the guard being with them.' The consequence was that the guard was set. And in order to make sure that there was no funny business a seal was placed on the stone in such a way that if it was moved it would be apparent to all. Thus the t... [ Continue Reading ]